(The following letter was sent to L.A. City Department of Public Works information officer Elena Stern.)

Hi Elena,
I was one of eight people who were emailed by Timothy Tyson regarding the tree removal hearing held last Friday (Sept. 9). The email was sent Tuesday morning (Sept. 6), noticing the meeting for the following Friday at 10 a.m.

While your posting “technically” did meet the Brown Act per a handwritten time stamp you provided, the posting did not allow for Palisades residents to be notified in a timely manner so that those who wanted to attend could have done so.

It would have helped greatly if the press and the Palisades Community Council had been notified, so they may have given adequate notice to our community. It is highly unlikely that our residents are going to stop by the glass cases at City Hall to read postings each morning.

Please advise me as to how I may receive mailed notices regarding any and all Public Works meetings that involve the Palisades in any regard so that action may taken locally to notify residents.

Also, how would this have been accommodated for last week’s meeting? For example, if the tree removal agenda item was placed on the agenda early Tuesday morning as Mr. Tyson stated, how would a mailed agenda have gotten to anyone, who would have requested one or who would have requested an ADA agenda, in enough time?

I look forward to your response so that I may receive mailed agendas per the Brown Act:

MAILED AGENDA UPON WRITTEN REQUEST
The legislative body, or its designee, must mail a copy of the agenda or, if requested, the entire agenda packet, to any person who has filed a written request for such materials. These copies shall be mailed at the time the agenda is posted. If requested, these materials must be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with disabilities. A request for notice is valid for one calendar year and renewal requests must be filed Jan. 1 of each year. The legislative body may establish a fee to recover the cost of providing the service. Failure of the requesting person to receive the agenda does not constitute grounds for invalidation of actions taken at the meeting.

Thanks very much,
Gina Ladinsky

(Editor’s note: From the center of Pacific Palisades, it is about 19 miles downtown. We agree with Ladinsky that most of us will not drive downtown every morning to see if an agenda has been posted. We believe that notices of hearings regarding this town should be posted in town and sent to the newspapers with plenty of time to disseminate the information.)

Palisades PRIDE and Caruso Project

Now that demolition is well underway at the Caruso site, PRIDE would like to announce that our organization has made arrangements with Caruso Affiliated to ensure the safekeeping and preservation of the PRIDE assets that were previously located on the demolition/ construction site. These items include the Brown Iron Benches & Trash Receptacles, The Little Library and all of the Brass Plaques that accompanied many of these items.

PRIDE has also entered into an agreement with Caruso Affiliated to have the names of over 1,100 donors previously located on the Swarthmore sidewalk tiles replicated on a new PRIDE Donor Wall located on the Caruso Property along Monument.

Over the next 12-24 months, PRIDE will continue to work with Councilman Bonin’s Office, The City of Los Angeles and Caruso Affiliated to restore and replace all of the PRIDE assets previously situated on the Caruso Property in locations throughout The Village. Once more detailed drawings and plans of the PRIDE Donor Wall become available and a comprehensive plan is finalized of where all of the other PRIDE assets will be relocated, we will share this information with the entire community.

Please contact PRIDE with any questions you may have about these new and exciting developments at (310) 459-7963 or PalisadesChamber@earthlink.net.

The PRIDE Board

Highlands Hiking Trail Reopened

I really appreciate the excellent investigative article by Sarah Stockman (“Palisades Hikers Illegally Locked Out,” Aug. 3). My wife Susan and I often hike from this Highlands trailhead and we were puzzled by the locked gate. I am happy to say that when I drove to the trailhead yesterday (Aug. 6), the gate was unlocked and open. You made a difference!

Marvin Klein

Thinking about Life Goals

There’s a popular Talmudic saying, even quoted on get-well-soon cards: “Every blade of grass has an angel in heaven that strikes it over the head and tells it to grow.”

In this short sentence, the sages express that every part of existence (down to the humble blade of grass) has a purpose, and is encouraged to fulfil its purpose for the greater good.

Like the blade of grass, just infinitely more so, you have a purpose and unique mission on earth.

It’s possible you’re already clear about your life goals and are working towards them. More likely, however, you’re not. A Jewish proverb explains, “A person often considers the loss of his money, but rarely the loss of his life.” We get caught up in the rat race, in competing and fitting in, without much thought about why. Consider the advice the Alter Rebbe (1745-1812), a great Chassidic master, gave a wealthy merchant fallen on hard times:

“You have spoken only about what you need. You have given no thought to what you are needed for.”

We are approaching the Jewish New Year—Rosh Hashanah—a time for introspection. Like the quarterly profit and loss meetings in business, we have an opportunity to assess ourselves, discover our mission, set goals, and start living life with purpose.

If you already know your life mission, use the time to recalibrate. Ask yourself whether you are moving in the direction you desire, or if you’ve settled for less. If you’re on auto pilot, take back the controls and get on the right course.

Twentieth century Jewish leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson said your birthday is G-d saying you matter. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the birthday of the world. The world matters, and so does your role in it. Now there’s a reason to celebrate!

Rabbi Zushe Cunin
Executive Director, Chabad Jewish Community Campus

Funding the Homeless Task Force

Our Santa Ynez Canyon Association in the Highlands received a presentation from the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness (PPTFH) and was astounded to learn about all that they are doing for our Palisades community.

PPTFH has divided our 90272 zip code into five areas and, using Google Maps, its volunteer team regularly walks the areas, including the hillsides and bluffs, to identify homeless encampments that pose illegal health, beach, and fire hazards to our community.

Then, coordinating with the PPTFH/OPCC Outreach Team, law enforcement and Recreation & Parks they remove the encampments while offering services to the homeless people.

Since January, the number of encampments has gone down from 57 to 35, and 79 homeless people have agreed to engage with the OPCC Outreach Team to talk about serv- ices and moving into housing. Seventeen people are now off our streets and in transitional or permanent housing. We understand that homelessness is an on-going problem and that we continue to see homeless people on our Village streets, but PPTFH is making a real difference. Our community should be grateful and proud that the task force is taking action to protect our community and work with our homeless people in a compassionate way.

We were shocked to learn that PPTFH needs money and the board members are doing all of the fundraising themselves! We knew about PPTFH but not that they need funding for the OPCC Outreach Team, which is the linchpin to supporting law-enforcement work and providing options for moving people off our streets and into housing. We now understand that if they don’t have someplace to go they will remain on our streets, beaches, and hillsides.

Our Board voted to contribute $540 to PPTFH to support its amazing work. This comes to $15 per household in our HOA. The PPTFH has raised the funds needed to pay for the outreach team for 2016; however, it still needs to raise $20,000 to pay for 2017.

We challenge each Pacific Palisades HOA to step up and do their part in supporting PPTFH and not sit back for a free ride. We are all safer because of PPTFH and should not take its work for granted. We have fellow residents out there doing work for us. The least we can do is give them the minimal financial support they need. Come on, HOA board presidents—call PPTFH, schedule a presentation to become informed and make a contribution. If all of the Palisades HOA’s give, we can raise the $20,000 needed for 2017 and maybe even part of 2018!

Natalie Reichman

(Editor’s note: Visit pptfh.org and click on “donation” for different options. Checks may be made out to OPCC with PPTFH written in the memo line and sent to PPTFH, P.O. Box 331, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.)

Palisades News welcomes all letters, which may be emailed to letters@palisadesnews.com. Please include a name, address and telephone number so we may reach you. Letters do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Palisades News.